For those of you who have spoken with me about photography over the last few months, you’ll know that I’ve been eager to try my hand at fashion photography, or even something more professional (studio with model + hair/makeup). The goal in mind was to try for something that looks at least semi-professional. To date, I’ve focused on lifestyle portraiture and haven’t really connected people and dots to book something more commercial. This changed a few weeks back after talking to an acquaintance of mine who sells vintage clothing through an online story called “Lady Go Lightly Vintage.”
Mostly taking photos of friends wearing the clothes in her back yard, the online vintage clothing site needed something a little more flashy to showcase the brand while also highlighting a few of the seasonal pieces currently for sale. We agreed to set the goal of building a look-book for her spring and summer pieces. A formidable challenge, indeed.
A friend of mine, Miguel Vigil owns FoxyCut Salon and CleanCut Barber shop in Seattle. He offered his salon as a backdrop and staff for our hair/makeup needs. With clothing, hair/makeup, and a location, we were on our way. The missing piece was models, but that turned out to be the easy part. Turns out between everyone involved, we had to trim our list of eligible models.
I spent the time leading up to the shoot studying various lighting techniques and reading up on a variety of methods and styles. I soon realized that I needed some better lighting equipment if I was to pull this off in a way that met my expectations. So a trip to Glazer’s Camera Rental was in order.
I ended up getting two strobes, a large soft box, and a soft box strip. I knew the basic techniques to lighting but have only used lighting kits on a handful of occasions. I needed to test this out to get the feel. Fortunately, Miguel also offered up his house and a role of butcher paper for a makeshift studio, and made a call to a model looking for portfolio photos. So we ended up putting together a full-fledged studio shoot in only a couple of hours.
Our model, Allison, arrived within the 30 minute time span in took us to set up. Hair and make-up began and soon enough, the experiment was underway.
Allison had done runway modeling, and this type of shoot was relatively new for her as well. This made her a perfect choice for my first attempt at a studio shoot.
Overall, I soon found a rhythm which allowed for the direction and shooting to flow. Allison had a lot of personality, which made the shoot a lot of fun. We went for a couple different looks, which added a little depth, and benefited everyone involved. I could direct a bit differently, Miguel could vary hair and makeup slightly, and Allison could demonstrate a little bit of range. Below is a taste (click the thumbnail for a larger image).
The lighting equipment was obviously critical for the studio shots. As we geared up for our main shoot for Lady Go Lightly, I expected this to hold true. However, I was surprised that I ended up liking the outdoor shots the best. All I needed for those was a simple diffuser, something I already had (and every photog should have). Silly me.
The big day arrived, and we all met at the salon to begin hair/makeup and setup for the shoot. Being a vintage women’s clothing brand, the salon was also perfect as our backdrop. With a few vintage props, we set out to create a contemporary spin on this vintage brand.
With four models, the prep work was a little more elaborate then we had planned. Each model spent roughly an hour have hair and makeup done, but the results were pretty solid. I went with a clean, bright, and slightly warm look for the photos. Something that conveyed a mood but also looked quazi-catalogue. I feel pretty good about the results. Below is only a taste. With over 1000 photos taken since Friday, I’ve got quite a few more to go through. Love it.
It was a fun weekend.
Special thanks to:
- Miyoko Kogita and Miguel Vigil at Foxycut Salon.
- Our models: Erin, Alexis, Darci, and Margeau. And to Allison for being our guinea pig.
- Lastly, thanks to my friend and photo assistant Corey Ball.
Stay tuned for a sneak peek of the look book!!!
-Elldub
